Friday, December 23, 2011

Happy Holidays!

Have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Power of One

Last month Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Yvette McGee Brown and I spoke at an event honoring Rosa Parks, the “Mother of the Modern Civil Rights Movement.” Ohio was recently recognized in the U.S. Congress as the first state to officially observe Rosa Parks Day.

Our Nov. 30 panel was part of a two-day tribute to Parks, who in December 1955 refused to give up her bus set to a white passenger, an event that sparked tremendous publicity and progress for civil rights for African Americans. She exemplifies the “power of one.”

Like Rosa Parks, who had the courage of her convictions, we as individuals have our own ripple effect on those in our world. Each of us has special talents, gifts we’ve been given and that we’re expected to use and develop. As we four justices spoke about our own experiences, we showed how each one of us has pursued a unique path to our present judicial positions. We are individuals with the “power of one,” but we work together to create a collegial court, one that deliberates for better judicial decisions. Our combined work is the power of one Supreme Court that works for all Ohioans.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center

As of December 2, the building that houses the Supreme Court of Ohio has a new name.

The Ohio Judicial Center will now be called the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center in honor of our late Chief Justice Moyer.

The second longest serving chief justice in Ohio history, and the longest serving state court chief justice in the nation at the time of his untimely death on April 2, 2010, Chief Justice Moyer served the court for just shy of 24 years. He is known for starting the rehabilitation of the 1930s Ohio Departments building that became the Ohio Judicial Center in 2004 and for his significant contributions to civility and public service and his dedication to the rule of law.

Almost 400 members of the judiciary and guests honored the late chief justice on Dec. 2 during the rededication ceremony. As part of the event, Chief Justice Moyer’s official court portrait was hung in the grand concourse where it will welcome all visitors to the home of the Supreme Court of Ohio.